FURI | Spring 2025

Integrated Portable Heater for Point-of-care Devices

Health icon, disabled. A red heart with a cardiac rhythm running through it.

A major limitation for point-of-care (POC) diagnostic assays is the need for precise elevated temperatures, which adds additional device power requirements. This project investigates the integration of a microcontroller, rechargeable battery, and heater into a POC device to allow for accurate temperature control and portability.  Successful integration will allow the POC device to be operable in low-resource settings, particularly in areas with unreliable electricity. Temperature control will increase the types of diagnostic assays that can be compatible with the POC device, such as nucleic acid amplification.

Student researcher

Michael Thomas Hansen

Electrical engineering

Hometown: Tempe, Arizona, United States

Graduation date: Spring 2026